Krishna's devotee never perishes

January 15, 2005

Pranam to all Vaishnavas,

For a person in deep sleep, the sequences in his dream can have no significance. The vision of a king or a soldier appearing in this state of mind will have no meaning. He cannot identify whether a man he sees is from the so-called upper caste or from lower strata. Can he distinguish between a night and a day while dreaming or whether the object is poor or rich? Likewise, a person walking on Mother Earth's surface may be holy or an evil one but no discrimination is made by Her. Before Lord Krishna all are same as He is the Supreme Godhead of the universe. Where then can the question of discrimination arise? Krishna is approached by a saint and sinner and He welcomes the former and reforms the latter. These sentiments are contained in the outpourings of a Telugu saint-composer whose personal Deity was Lord Srinivasa (Krishna’s incarnation) of Thirumala. On one occasion, some who were then (centuries ago) termed untouchables and who wanted to worship the Lord Srinivasa’s deity in side the

Thirumala temple, were denied entry and were driven away. At this juncture, this Vaishnavite saint rendered a song echoing the sentiments as above. While some appreciated his progressive views, a few who were angered, burnt all his compositions. Immediately Lord Srinivasa restored them and the compositions were etched on copper plates for permanent preservation. Praising Lord Srinivasa, the saint, a contemporary of Purandara Dasa, sang that a person born here should on some day die and during his stay in this life-drama, of which the Lord is the Director, he should play the role assigned to him properly. The saint-composer was Annamacharya.

Joining a group of bards, young Annamacharya reached Thirumala, obtained guidance from a holy man in Vaishnava traditions and adored Lord Srinivasa. In the company of pious men, the outlook of an untrained individual will be changed and he too was such a beneficiary. He was commanded by the Lord to render a song a day and in the first, he refers to the Holy Feet of the Lord which brought back Ahalya to life and quelled the arrogance of the giant snake, Kaaliya. The song also is symbolic of Lord Krishna's incarnations and of the process of evolution.

Unfortunately, these spiritual episodes are given a twist and are branded as merely mythological. The king, who patronized the composer of Tallapaka, wanted him to sing just one song praising him but the divine messenger declined, for which he was imprisoned. One of the miracles in his life mentions about his prayers to Anjaneya when invaders who looted temples were attacked by monkeys. The theme of his songs is ``surrender.''

A human being is Lord Krishna's most enviable and precious gift to the universe as he can act using his thinking faculty in a proper manner. Every person thus caused to be born, can by his efforts, either rise to a higher level (when Krishna pleased with his devotion endows him with Divine qualities) or acquire the traits of beasts, behaving in a despicable way, resorting to cruel deeds. The choice is purely his - to conform to moral order or violate the glorious norms.

Measures have been made available to man (and woman) which, if adopted, will surely lead him or her to the abode of Krishna. These steps are so marvellously and meticulously planned to enable each individual to climb gradually, ultimately reaching the stage when he or she can enjoy bliss here itself. Krishna has thus granted the power of discrimination and the ability to use the intellect. This privilege has been conferred upon only the human being. Should he (or she) not therefore make the best use of this opportunity?

On the other hand, the animals and the other creations do not possess the capacity to think. They eat, survive and multiply in a mechanical way. The moment there is a threat to their very existence, they escape. Human beings can drive them away if they try to harm them. But man's activities are governed by the law of virtue. There will be due punishment according to the ``Rules of Justice''.

Explaining how man can benefit himself by the use of the intellectual capacity he has been endowed with, a saint said given flour, sugar and water, he can make out of the paste, a variety of sweets, each in a different shape. Likewise, he has before him, the path of devotion which he can pursue arduously and reap the fruits. He can worship Krishna at home, visit Krishna’s temples, go on pilgrimage to sacred places relevant to Krishna and resort to any type of service for Krishna. He can clearly identify those acts which ought to be carried out zealously and those which are prohibited and which are to be abjured. Men and women, without any distinction, will have to uphold all the beneficial deeds, fully aware that if he or she violates the norms, he or she will be liable for punishment. What else can they expect than these benevolent gestures of Krishna for them to lead an

ideal and purposeful life? Beasts, birds and other creations are totally oblivious to these prescriptions.

The Bhagavad Gita is the reference work for a man. It has to be thoroughly digested as in it, Lord Krishna has prescribed the measures to escape from the ill-effects of one’s past sins. Man cannot say what he was in his previous births. But he can elevate himself to realize Krishna who declares the following in Gita :

Gita , Chapter 9, Verse 30api cet su-duracaro / bhajate mam ananya-bhaksadhur eva sa mantavyah / samyag vyavasito hi sah

( Even a man who has committed abominable sins in the past engages in sincere devotion to Me, he is still to be considered a sadhu, due to being properly situated in bhakti.)

Gita , Chapter 9, Verse 31ksipram bhavati dharmatma / sasvac-chantim nigacchatikaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati

(He quickly becomes virtuous and attains eternal peace. O Kaunteya, declare it boldly that My bhakta never perishes.)

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!

Krishna’s Dasi, Jayamma.

The all-new My – What will yours do?